Shakespeare's perception of the classical philosophical idea of suicide

The article discusses the ancient idea of voluntary departure from life from the perspective of its influence on Shakespeare’s works. The author of the article singles out the texts that influenced the views of the English playwright on suicide due to both the general enthusiasm of the Elizabethans for antiquity and Shakespeare’s habit of taking ready-made plots from favourite books, including ancient works, and also his passion for introducing mythological and historical allusions into dramaturgy and poetry. The author dwells on the issue of direct sources relying on the authoritative opinion of such Shakespeare scholars as J. Beit, W. Baldwin, J. Bullough, R. S. Miola, C. Muir, W. Rolf and others, and notes the significance of the so-called cultural sources which could be read or perceived indirectly. In Shakespeare studies, the question of the extent of cultural influence on the works of the English playwright is viewed as open and relevant. The article refers to the ideas and examples of suicide expressed in The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius, Letters to Lucius by Cicero, On Life... by Diogenes of Laertius, On the Death of Peregrine by Lucian, Phaedo and The Laws by Plato, Comparative Biographies by Plutarch, Moral Letters to Lucilius by Seneca. The material is classified to single out main approaches to the idea of suicide revealing the diversity of philosophical thoughts about voluntary departure from life in antiquity, the complexity of the suicide discourse in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, which was borrowed by Shakespeare in great extent. Shakespeare’s works demonstrate suicide as a pessimistic escape from the hardships of life, an improper challenge to the gods, a hero’s noble departure from the irreversible wheel of Fortune, despair of a coward, choice of a wise man, etc.